This lucid and captivating book takes the reader back to the early history of all the sciences, starting from antiquity and ending roughly at the time of Newton — covering the period which can legitimately be called the “dawn” of the sciences. Each of the 24 chapters focuses on a particular and significant development in the evolution of science, and is connected in a coherent way to the others to yield a smooth, continuous narrative. The at-a-glance diagrams showing the “When” and “Where” give a brief summary of what was happening at the time, thereby providing the broader context of the scientific events highlighted in that chapter. Embellished with colourful photographs and illustrations, and “boxed” highlights scattered throughout the text, this book is a must-read for everyone interested in the history of science, and how it shaped our world today.

Prof. Thanu Padmanabhan, a gifted theoretical physicist and cosmologist, is currently a Distinguished Professor at IUCAA, Pune, India. An internationally acclaimed researcher and teacher, he has published nearly 300 technical papers and authored eleven books which have made significant impact. His research has won prizes seven times in recent years from the Gravity Research Foundation, USA including the First Award in 2008. He was the Chairman of the IUPAP Astrophysics Commission (2011-14), the President of the IAU Cosmology Commission (2009-12) and a Sackler Distinguished Astronomer of Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. He has received numerous national and international awards including the Padma Shri, the presidential medal of honor in India.

Dr. Vasanthi Padmanabhan obtained her Ph.D in astrophysics from TIFR, Mumbai working in the field of dark matter and structure formation in the universe, establishing constraints on decaying dark matter scenarios. An expert in scientific computing, writing and production, she has been actively involved with the end-to-end editing and formatting of the books authored by her spouse, Thanu Padmanabhan, over several decades, including the preparation of most of their technical and scientific figures. She is keenly interested in the history of science.